Daily Mail - Charleston -- A Mercer County man was among five U.S. service members killed when their helicopter crashed during a routine post-maintenance test flight in Iraq, the Department of Defense said.

The CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed near Taqaddum air base on Tuesday. Among the victims was Staff Sgt. Stanley B. Reynolds, 37, of Lashmeet.

Reynolds was a truck driver before enlisting in the military more than five years ago. His late father was a Marine who served in Vietnam.

"He wanted to serve his country the way his father did,'' Anthony Masters, a family spokesman, said Thursday night.

Reynolds, who was married with three children ages 8, 6 and 4, left for Iraq in early July for a 15-month deployment, his second overseas, Masters said.